


stitched song

by Ghostfries



Category: Subarashiki Kono Sekai | The World Ends With You
Genre: Breaking the fourth wall for fun and profit, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, NeShiki Day 2020, Nekushiki Day 2020, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:21:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25975099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ghostfries/pseuds/Ghostfries
Summary: Shiki wants to express her gratitude to her friends. Little does she know that Neku also has something up his sleeve...
Relationships: Hanekoma Sanae & Kiryu "Joshua" Yoshiya, Misaki Shiki/Sakuraba Neku
Comments: 6
Kudos: 33





	stitched song

Shiki was woken up from a peaceful dream by the shrill buzz of a doorbell.

The girl threw herself out of bed, disoriented and panicked, and tripped over piles of old clothes to get to her bedroom door. It swung open with a creak. She peeked out into the hallway to see what was going on. Her mother called for her from a few rooms away.

"Shiki! Your friends are here!"

Ah crap. That was today?

"Ahhh, I'm not even dressed yet!" Shiki panicked. For someone as fashion-conscious as her, being seen in pyjamas was unthinkable. The heaps of clothing scattered around her room beckoned her, and she tore them apart looking for something vaguely co-ordinated. A nice top, a pretty skirt to go with- no, definitely not _together,_ not with those clashing colors. And where did all of the socks go?

Her mother was looking at her with disapproval. "Your room is a mess, Shiki! You didn't use to be this disorganized."

"I'm sorry, mom... I'll clean up in a bit," replied Shiki sheepishly. She knew she was being uncharacteristically lazy - after everything that happened in the UG, with the Reaper's Game, she found it hard to get motivated. She'd gotten used to seeing Eri in the mirror, and waking up to plain old Shiki again made her want to automatically give up and go back to sleep.

The doorbell rang again, impatient. Shiki gave up on getting dressed for now - she only needed to put her glasses on. Eventually she shuffled up to the front door and wrenched it open. Standing on the porch were three familiar faces - an athletic guy with a skull cap, a small girl with a bell pendant, and an orange-haired boy with headphones. They looked blankly at her for a second. She couldn't tell if it was because they still weren't used to her true form or if she just looked that weird first thing in the morning.

"I overslept." She blurted out as explanation.

"Yes, that is evident," said an unamused Neku.

Beat and Rhyme looked at each other and snorted, sneaking not-so-subtle glances at Shiki's bedhead. Beat grinned at her and put a hand on the door. "Yo, you gonna let us in, then? Or s'this a bad time?"

Shiki shook her head fervently. 'N-No, it's fine, come on in. My room's kind of a dumpster fire, though."

"That's okay." Rhyme hummed with a pleasant smile. "Our house probably is worse, right Beat?"

"Hells yeah!" Beat enthusiastically agreed. "Ain't no place filled with more crap than ours!"

"What's with this weird sense of competition..." Neku murmured.

Shiki stood aside to let them in, her slippers shuffling across the carpet. Beat ran indoors with all guns blazing, excited to finally be in his friend's home. He was about to be very, very disappointed if he was expecting anything good from Shiki's place.

"It's cosy, I like it," said Rhyme as she daintily tiptoed past the clutter and sat down on the bed. "I like all your stuffed animals too."

"Thanks!" said Shiki, before realizing she'd made a grave mistake. It was too late to hide it now - Neku and Beat were already going inside her room. A nervous blush spread across her face. _Don't notice them, please don't notice them-_

"Hey, guys!" Beat called out, his booming voice ensuring no privacy. "Look at these!"

Shiki buried her face in her hands. He noticed them.

Along with her usual stuffed animals, there were four new ones sitting innocently on a pillow. Unlike her usual, however, these appeared to be plushies of human characters.

"These are new, right?" continued Beat. "What are they?"

Rhyme picked one up, curling her hand around it with a smile. "It's us..."

"Bwha? It is?!"

"And Eri too." Neku observed, pointing at the corresponding doll.

Shiki felt really embarrassed for some reason. Nervousness constricted her throat as she attempted to justify herself. "I'm not used to making plushies of people, so they didn't turn out well... just a little something I did to kill time..."

Rhyme was the first to break into a grin, hugging her and her brother's dolls close. "They're so cute. You must have put a lot of care into this."

"W-Well, not really..." Shiki fibbed, trying to fiddle with the long hair she no longer had. She sent a sneaky glance over at the other two to gauge their reactions. Rhyme was one thing, but what if the boys thought it was creepy? She couldn't tell. Neku was as poker-faced as ever, and Beat had pulled his cap over his face.

"...Beat, are you okay?" She asked.

"Is he crying?" Neku blinked.

"He's crying." Rhyme affirmed. A watery sniff came from the confines of the hat.

"I can' help it, yo!" replied an indignant Beat. "Ain't no friend ever done somethin' like dis for me before..."

Shiki smiled awkwardly at the cap. "There, there..."

Despite her soothing words, something was slowly building in her as she looked at Beat's face (or lack thereof.) Before she could stew any more, she was interrupted by a soft thud. She looked up at Neku, who was holding a headless plushie at arms' length.

"Don't look at me like that. It fell off on its own." He protested weakly when three stares locked onto him.

"Oh no..." Shiki dove down to retrieve the doll's head. "I'm sorry, I thought they were secured! I didn't mean for that to happen! I'll fix it-"

"Nah, it was Phones' fault, he should fix it," Beat weighed in.

"I don't know how to do that. Also, again, it wasn't me." Neku folded his arms.

Shiki looked down at the detached head of the Neku doll, dejected. "Sorry. It's my fault for making them so shoddily. I shouldn't have done this to start with."

Neku let out a low sigh, lowering his headphones. "Shiki, it's not that big a deal. These things happen. And, uh... other than being decapitated, it turned out all right."

She smiled wistfully. He really was bad with pep talks. Neku didn't waste time sugarcoating things - but maybe that was why when he reassured Shiki, she actually believed what he was saying. She nodded to herself. "I guess so..."

"Hey, Shiki," Rhyme chimed in curiously. "Do you think you could control these too, if we were in the UG?"

Shiki considered it, frowning thoughtfully. She'd never considered trying to animate plushies other than Mr. Mew with her psychokinesis. If it had been as simple as 'controlling something you made yourself', she'd feel really stupid. Maybe there was some merit to actually reading the pin descriptions.

"That's why I told you look at the abilities," Neku reminded everyone again. "Shiki kept trying to buy whatever clothes she liked, even if they were useless."

Beat grunted. "Is that why you gave me that lame-ass shirt?"

"You can laugh all you want, but you'd be dead without the stat boost." Neku shot back.

"The what now?"

Shiki suddenly stood up, a sour look in her eyes, glasses shining menacingly. "Now that we're on the subject... something's been bothering me..."

The three others turned their attention to her, Rhyme cocking her head innocently.

Shiki couldn't take it any more.

"Why are you all dressed like that?!" She burst out in righteous anger.

"Like what?" Beat asked, worried about her abrupt change in attitude. Neku got up and made for the door, knowing what was coming, but Shiki grabbed his arm before he could leave.

"You're not going anywhere. All of you listen to me." She said it with such ferocity that he went back to where he was.

The three sat together. Beat and Rhyme looked very scared and confused, huddling to avoid the wrath of the dorky glasses girl.

"Every time I see you people, you're wearing the _same thing!"_ She ranted. "Are you making an effort at all? Spice it up! Do you have only one outfit each or what?"

"I happen to like this outfit." Neku muttered.

"Well, it sucks," Shiki blurted out in her fashion-fuelled frenzy before her mind could catch up. He looked stricken. "And you, Rhyme, don't you want to dress up? Instead you wear the same sweater day in, day out. And don't get me started on Beat..."

"What the hell? Why're you so worked up about this, yo?!" Beat panicked slightly.

"No... she does have a point." Rhyme said thoughtfully.

"She does?!"

"Truthfully, we don't really have the money to be spending on trends." The younger girl said with a sigh. "I wish things were different, but that's how it is."

A wave of guilt washed over Shiki. "Oh... I'm sorry, I didn't realize- god, I'm such a jerk..."

"It's okay. You didn't know," said Rhyme. "I know how passionate you are about this."

"If we were in the UG..." Neku spoke quietly from behind. "I'd have like 900 thousand yen we could spend on whatever. But I guess UG currency doesn't carry over."

"Thas some bullshit, man." Beat folded his arms. "We fought tooth an' nail for all that dough, and in the end we can't take it with us?"

"Well, at least we're alive." Rhyme said. The others made murmurs of mildly bitter agreement and fell into silence. Mentions of the Reaper's Game always had this effect- they could skim the surface of what happened in conversation, but memories of their three weeks of torment were best not delved into. The pain of their untimely deaths and struggle to survive would never fully leave them, and Shiki knew they'd accepted that. They had to, to continue living.

The heavy mood was abruptly interrupted by Neku's phone buzzing intensely, startling everyone. He flipped it open and squinted at the screen.

" _Look outside...?"_ He read aloud. _"Consider this compensation..._ consider _what_ compensation?"

Shiki wrung her hands nervously and pulled Mr. Mew into her arms. Fear seized her all of a sudden, and she found herself spiralling. More weird things were happening. More messages... more missions? Who had sent such a thing?

"We should do as it says," Rhyme said, so level-headed. Shiki was almost jealous of how calm she was. Beat grunted out a 'yeah' and the two left the room, expecting the others to follow. Shiki, however, was rooted to the spot.

"Shiki?" asked Neku hesitantly, seeing her waver and hug the stuffed animal close. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah," she said, feeling like she might be sick. "I needed a second, that's all." She forced her shaking form up and walked out into the corridor. The front door loomed before her, the only barrier between her and the Game. This was just like how it had been back in the UG - an un-life dictated by cryptic messages and cruel challenges.

In the end, she didn't have to open it. Rhyme came back inside, Beat not far behind. In her hands was a wallet.

"This was in the garden," she said.

"Lemme see that." Neku said suddenly. Rhyme obliged and handed it over. A second later, he scowled. "...I knew it. This is mine."

"It's yours?" asked Shiki, deep in thought. "Could you have dropped it on the way here?"

Neku shook his head. "I didn't bring it with me. I'm sure of it."

"Should we open it?" Rhyme suggested.

"I don't know... This seems like a trap," murmured a doubtful Shiki.

Beat stomped over and grabbed the wallet straight out of Neku's hand. "Let's see!"

As Beat unzipped the wallet, Shiki, Neku and Rhyme braced themselves for whatever was coming next. Shiki put a protective arm around the blonde out of a big-sisterly sense of protection.

"Hey, look!" Beat called excitedly. "Look at all this cash!"

Intrigue overtaking their previous wariness, the remaining three got closer to peer at the wallet. The interior was overflowing with bank notes, crammed inside so as to fit. The teenagers looked at each other in shock.

"Is this real...?" Shiki couldn't help but voice her concern.

"Sure looks like it." Beat shrugged.

"Is this... the money from the UG?" Rhyme suggested.

"And right after we were talking about it..." Neku checked his phone again. "This is the 'compensation'..."

Compensation for what? Taking their money away? Dragging them into the Reapers' Game?

Or... (Shiki found herself considering a more sinister possibility.) If this message was from the Composer, that Joshua guy, it could be 'compensation for shooting Neku'.

Neku himself jolted her out of her musings, by exclaiming "It's not even the full amount of what I earned! There's only 90 thousand. What kind of compensation gives people a fraction of what they should've had to start with?"

"It's gotta be priss-kid, man. He has the vibes of a cheapskate." Beat said nonchalantly. Neku twitched at the nickname, no doubt remembering all the things Shiki wasn't there for. That she wasn't able to help him with...

He played the game over and over to return her to life. Shiki didn't know how to begin to express her gratitude for that, so she'd smoothed things over with uncertain jokes and apologies. Neku had told her not to feel like she owed him anything - he was simply evening the score from when he choked Shiki in their first week. After doing something so terrible, it was only natural for him to try to redeem himself to her. But she always wanted to at least show her appreciation. And not just to Neku - to everyone.

"90 thousand yen is still a lot of money," Rhyme reminded. "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth."

Shiki tried to think of what Eri would do to lift the atmosphere. She couldn't be Eri, but she could do things her own Shiki way. And Shiki knew just how to cheer everyone up.

"That settles it, then." She steeled herself and gave a grin that resembled how she would beam in Eri's form. She could finally smile that wide with her own mouth. "We're going shopping after all."

"Eh-" Rhyme hesitated. "But it's Neku's money... I'd feel bad."

Neku gave a non-commital hum, scratching the back of his head. "It's not like I'd be able to spend all this by myself."

Rhyme and Shiki's faces brightened, and to Neku, that made it all worth it.

"Then what're we waiting for?!" Beat charged back outside, making the door slam into the wall in his hurry. Neku winced at the noise and pulled his headphones back up. Rhyme and Shiki were hot on their heels. The ragtag group of misfits made their way down the garden path.

Noticing the footsteps behind her halt, Shiki paused and spun on her heel to look. Neku was standing on the grass, hands on his earpads, staring into space. He was saying something she couldn't quite make out. She was about to ask him what was wrong when he noticed her staring. He let his arms fall and continued walking. Headphones on. That meant 'give me space'.

Shiki let it go, not wanting to pressure him. There were struggles she, too, would rather not broadcast to the people she admired. It wasn't the time for such thoughts, however. It was the time to enjoy the hard-earned lives they'd fought so hard for.

Then, suddenly, she paused. She was still in her pyjamas.

"I'll catch up with you later, okay? I need to get dressed." She called. "I'll wait at Hanako."

"No, it's fine. We can wait for you." said Rhyme.

"Really?" Shiki wasn't used to people going to such lengths to include her. "I don't want to stop you from having fun-"

"You're the one who wants to go shopping," Neku cut in curtly. "We're waiting for you."

"Guess ya better hurry up, eh, Shiks?" Beat grinned. "We'll just hang around the house while you're getting changed."

Shiki nodded. "Okay. Thanks."

* * *

When the girl emerged from her bedroom, she couldn't find her friends in the corridor. She followed their voices to the living room, where they were sitting on the sofa opposite her mother and drinking tea. Shiki hid behind the door, trying to listen in on what they were saying. If they were saying bad things about her, she'd rather know. Little snippets of conversation floated by.

"I don't know how you all did it," said Mom with a smile in her voice. "She never used to go outside if it wasn't with Eri. She's changed recently. I think it's your influence."

"Nah, we didn't do anything," Beat scoffed.

"Right." Neku spoke up. "Shiki was strong enough to change herself."

"Whatever the reason," said Mom, "I'm so glad that she's grown enough to hang around with friends. I was so worried she'd end up a NEET..."

Behind the door, Shiki didn't know what to feel. She didn't realize how much her mother loved her. No, that wasn't it. She'd refused to accept any love, because she was so entangled in her web of self-hatred. Up until now... she couldn't _believe_ that anyone could love someone like her.

And what Neku said... She'd changed herself? That wasn't right. It was him who changed her, forced her to confront her identity. She hoped that one day she would see the strength he saw in her.

Her mother's voice suddenly darkened. "By the way, you with the orange hair..."

"Y-Yes?" Neku could be heard saying.

"You certainly think highly of my daughter, don't you?"

There was a scowl in his voice as he replied. "Where's this coming from?"

A quiet chuckle. 'I've got my eye on you, kiddo, so don't-"

Shiki flew into the room, beet red. "Mom, stop grilling them! They're my guests!"

"Oh, Shiki, I'm only teasing..." Mom trailed off as everyone took in Shiki's appearance.

She didn't know why they all looked so surprised. She was only wearing a floral dress and some hairclips. Her time in Eri's body had influenced her - she now had enough bravery to try on cuter clothes in her own body. Maybe the feminine look didn't suit someone as mousy as her, though...

Her mother immediately started gushing over her. "Oh, baby, you look so beautiful. I was starting to think you'd never wear that dress."

"M-Mom!" A heavy blush spread across Shiki's face like a rash. "Don't say that in front of everyone!"

"You'll have to fight off the admirers at this rate," Mom laughed her off, winking at the boys. "She's quite a catch, you know."

"MOM!"

"Sorry. Go have fun, you lot."

Shiki shuffled out of the room, her friends following behind. "Ugh, just when I had stopped feeling self-conscious..."

"Don't sweat it, Shiks," Beat said encouragingly. "Sometimes 'rents are annoying like that."

"Yeah... sorry, everyone."

"Hey, don't apologize," Neku reminded her. "You didn't do anything wrong."

He was right. There was no reason for Shiki to apologise. She felt confident in her looks for once and she wasn't about to let anyone get in the way of that.

Rhyme took Shiki's arm and gently pulled. "Come on, let's go tour the shops. We can get clothes or food or whatever we want."

"Yeah," Shiki smiled. "Let's go."

Neku quietly approached her as the siblings led the way. "Hey, Shiki... you don't actually think my outfit sucks, do you?"

Shiki gave a teasing smirk. "I was just riled up. It kind of suits you, to be honest."

"Huh?" Neku's mouth hung open, but Shiki was already racing down the road before he could say anything more. "Hey, wait!"

* * *

After a long day of shopping and being used as a dress-up doll by Shiki, Neku returned home and let his head flop onto his desk. His bedroom looked the same as it did before he died - though of course it would. He felt a little like an intruder haunting his own house, but he shook off those feelings and forced himself to focus on something else.

The money from today... was it really from the Composer - no, from Joshua? He hoped so, or he'd have been arguing with himself in the garden.

He didn't know if Joshua could hear, but he'd muttered to himself anyway. 

_I haven't forgiven you, you know._

_I can't forgive you until you come down and hash it out with me face-to-face._

_We're all waiting for you._

Joshua probably hadn't been listening. He may have powers equivalent to a god, but he had his job to be going on with. He might not ever show up, but Neku decided to keep hoping. 

Idly, his weary eyes glanced to the calender on the wall. Nothing going on this month... except for a certain date circled in red. 

_Shiki's birthday... what should I get her?_

What did she even like? Clothes? He couldn't get clothes, she likely had all the ones she wanted already. What else did she like? Ugh, this was pointless. Maybe he should buy something sweet. Or flowers, girls liked flowers, right?

No... flowers might be coming on too strong. She might get the wrong idea. 

_What_ wrong idea?

Neku mulled over his last thought. No, Shiki wouldn't think about him that way. _Come on, Neku,_ he chastised himself. _Just a present for a friend. Don't overthink it._

Then an idea hit him. Something for Shiki that she didn't already have... it's a long shot, but he might just be able to pull it off.

* * *

The next time they met was on Shiki's birthday. She didn't usually make a big deal out of it, but for some reason her friends kept popping round her house with gifts. It was a little overwhelming, but not in a bad way.

She smiled softly, pulling a pendant over her head - the same as Rhyme's. Rhyme had remembered how Shiki gushed over it and got a matching one. Shiki could never have dreamed of people listening to her so intently, _remembering_ her off-the-cuff comments, valuing her presence. 

On her workdesk, Beat's present - a stationery set with a cat pattern - sat proudly in a cup. It reeked of 'I-don't-know-what-to-get', but in a very endearing Beat-type way. Shiki appreciated it.

Eri's present was currently in Shiki's sewing machine. It was a new part that Shiki had been looking for to fix her machine for some time. Eri knew how frustrated Shiki got when it jammed.

The only person who hadn't dropped by bearing gifts and birthday congratulations was Neku. Although, it's not like Shiki was waiting for him in particular or anything. She was happy enough with what she had already - she already had more gifts than she'd recieved her last ten birthdays combined. That was enough for someone like her.

She raked through her closet, looking at all the clothes she'd bought on that fateful shopping trip. One day, she'd have the bravery to wear all of this. With those three by her side, she was sure it would happen someday.

The second Shiki zoned out, a knock on the door made her jump. She raced across the bathroom tiles to the mirror, making sure she was presentable. Okay, not as bad as she'd feared. The girl smoothed down her brunette cowlicks with a wet comb and went to the door, trying to look casual.

Neku was standing at the door, carrying a bag and wearing the jacket she'd picked out for him on the shopping spree. Did he do that on purpose? Shiki was pleased that she was right about it suiting him.

She smiled. "Hey there. What brings you to my humble abode?"

"You already know why I'm here." He said, zipping his collar up higher. The action drew her attention to his hand - his fingers were swathed in an unusual amount of band-aids. Neku didn't strike Shiki as the clumsy type, so she was a little worried.

"What happened to your hands?" She asked, taking one and peering at it. Neku flushed as red as his hair and wriggled free of Shiki's grip. 

"Nothing much." He muttered, before shoving the bag out in her direction. Shiki gingerly took it in her hand, and opened it up. Inside was some kind of soft toy.

"You... can take it out, you know," a grumpy Neku prompted her, making Shiki giggle. She did as he said and pulled her present out of the bag, taking the time to look at it properly. A soft gasp escaped her lips as she realized what it was.

A plushie.

Felt brown hair sewn into its scalp, a smiling mouth and big blue button eyes that resembled glasses. A cardigan and long green skirt. A Mr. Mew emblem was stitched amateurishly onto the back of the cardigan. Shiki turned the doll over in her hands, unable to do anything but take it in.

"This is... me?" She breathed.

Neku averted his eyes from her and nodded. "That day we went to your house... you had dolls of all of us... but it felt like it was missing someone."

For some reason, tears were welling up in Shiki's eyes. She gulped it down and hugged the doll. "Thank you, Neku. It's really... I love it."

A few tender seconds passed.

"Still, isn't it kind of self-obsessed to have a plushie of yourself?" Shiki wondered.

Neku frowned, realizing he hadn't thought that far ahead. Eventually he recovered with "You could stand to value yourself more. Maybe start with that plushie..."

Shiki smiled weakly, staring into the innocent, pure face of the doll. It was kinda cute. Was this how Neku percieved her? That would be nice.

Valuing her own interests... and by extension, eventually, valuing herself...

It might just help.

Shiki stumbled out the front door and wrapped her friend in a hug. Neku was startled for a second before smiling and wrapping his arms around Shiki.

"Damn, I didn't think it was _that_ good." He joked quietly.

"Hey..."

Shiki's tone was serious, plaintive. The vulnerability in her voice immediately had Neku on edge.

"What's wrong?"

She pouted. "You hurt yourself with the sewing needle, didn't you? That's why you have all those band-aids."

"It was my first time using one." He shrugged. It didn't really bother him.

"That's not good enough..." She murmured into his jacket. "Be more careful."

Neku was about to argue back when Shiki started talking once more. Her head was buried in his chest so he couldn't see her face. "And one more thing... do you really think I'm that cute?"

"Huh?" He blanked.

"W-Well, you made that plushie look so..." Shiki waved her hands wildly in flusterment. She felt like her face was on fire. "...so adorable... do you think it's cute?"

"I... guess..." Neku murmured, struggling to keep a straight face. "I would've made it more cute if I was any good at sewing."

Shiki abruptly released him, her brown eyes glittering with satisfaction. "So you admit it! You do think I'm cute!"

"Duh." Neku said, shying into his collar.

"D-did you just say 'duh'?"

"Yeah. I do think you're cute." He said it in such an unexpectedly straightforward way that Shiki felt her heart do cartwheels. She thought she might pass out.

"I-I-I..." she garbled. "I-I also t-think so..."

"You think you're cute too?" Neku teased. "Good, you're learnin-"

"I meant you, idiot!" Shiki exclaimed, hurling Mr Mew at his face. He caught it in one hand and put it down next to the other dolls.

"I think that you're cute!! You with your weird fashion sense and spiky hair and even your prickliness!" Shiki was on a roll now, yelling out compliments.

"Why are you _shouting_ at me when you say that?!" He cried.

"Sorry! I'm bad at feelings!" Shiki buried her face in her hands.

"Yeah, that makes two of us." He muttered. "But I guess now's the right time to say. So... I like you, Shiki."

Shiki stared blankly, having surpassed her limit of embarrassment. When she eventually came back to reality, she stuttered out a response.

"So... if we both... then... does that mean we should date...?" Shiki's brain was working overtime as she struggled to comprehend the situation. "I-I don't know if I'm stable enough to have a boyfriend yet! What should I do, Neku?!"

He put a hand on her shoulder. "Calm down. We don't have to... uh... rush into things."

"But I do wanna go out with you! I do, but I'm scared!" Shiki whined.

Neku's face got even redder, if that were possible. "W-Well, uh... there's no pressure. We can just... l-like each other... and hang out as normal..."

"Oh yeah." Shiki said, feeling dumb. "Being boyfriend and girlfriend... we don't have to label ourselves or anything. We can just love."

The gentle sincerity in her voice made Neku's heart ache. He reached forward and took her hand.

"Huh?! Hand holding already?!" She burst out.

"No, not that." Neku scoffed, and then smiled more innocently than Shiki had ever seen. "We're renewing our pact."

"What?" Shiki asked, staring down at their interlocked fingers. She hoped hers weren't too sweaty.

Neku squeezed her hand, and Shiki could've sworn she felt a crackle of energy passing through their skin - a tiny fragment of their bond in the RG.

"No matter what," The boy continued, surprisingly bold, "We're _partners._ "

Emotion bubbled up from the spring of Shiki's heart. She nodded vigorously and pounced on him in an even more ferocious hug.

"Yes!"

Far away, she thought she could hear someone laugh.

* * *

**One week later...**

Sanae Hanekoma locking up his cafe on a day like any other, sipping from his favourite mug. He found a stuffed toy sitting outside WildKat, as if someone had propped it up there.

"What do we have here?" He crouched down to get a better look at the plushie and promptly did a spit take.

_Those kids, I swear... they've got balls to make merch of the Composer..._

"Ha ha ha! I knew I saw something in them." Hanekoma belted out a laugh and flipped his phone open. He called the most recent number.

"Hanekoma." came the voice from the other side.

"Joshua." He replied.

"It's unusual for you to be the one to call me. What is it?"

Hanekoma bit down another laugh. "It's gotta be seen to be believed, J. Swing by WildKat and I'll show you."

The boy's irritation could not be clearer. "I'm an extremely busy man, you know. I don't have energy to waste on trivial things."

"Well, I guess you'll just hafta be curious forever." Hanekoma smirked to himself. Joshua might be the Composer, but He was still a person, and every person has their weaknesses. For example, being very nosy.

"Now, now, there's no need for that." The voice came from behind him. Standing outside the shop was a flickering mass of light, just barely containing the shape of a person. Why did this kid always have to be so extra...

"I see you still got that flair for the dramatic," said Hanekoma, shutting his phone since apparently there was no more use for it.

"So what did you want to show me?"

"Look down at your feet."

The Composer bent down to be at eye-level with the mysterious object. He reached out a hand to touch it, and the doll changed. It began to glow, the Joshua form enveloped by a wavering white fog, not dissimilar to His Composer form. He held it in His hands, or what looked like it anyway, and Hanekoma couldn't tell where the doll ended and Joshua began.

"Aw, Neku," Joshua said. "If he wanted another bullet in him, he could have just asked."

"You say that," Hanekoma murmured, taking another sip of coffee, "but you don't hate it, do you?"

"..."

"Why don't you go see them? Those guys will accept you, ya know." The barista continued with a knowing smile. "That plushie's the proof."

"...Idiotic." Joshua scoffed, still holding the object tight, absorbing it into the celestial light obscuring His form. "Such sentimentality only gets in the way of my role."

"No need to talk about yourself like that. You're lonely and you know it."

"You can be so infuriating, Mr H."

"Well, until you find the courage to confront those 'friends' of yours, you can always stay with me," Hanekoma shrugged and moved his cup towards the shimmering light. "Coffee?"

"Yes, please."

In the dead of night, unseen by anyone, all six plushies radiated a brief, subtle shine. 

When Shiki awoke in the morning, she found a feather on the shelf where her stuffed toys were lined up.


End file.
